If wrong, this is clearly out of ignorance and not their wish.” “If what they do is right, no cause for complaint. Why does a person act as she does? What’s her perception that led to this behavior? Can you put yourself in her shoes? 3. Look at the behavior of other people and ask yourself, “which opinions led to their behaviors?” “ what sort of people they are at table, in bed, and so on.” We’re meant to act according to nature, all in the interest of each other. He was born to be their leader as an emperor, “as a ram leads his flock and the bull his herd.” Marcus reflects on his relation to other people. ( Meditations, 11.18.1-11) Marcus Aurelius’ 10 Rules for Dealing with People 1. In his Meditations, they are found in book eleven, section eighteen. Today, we’ll look at the ten rules Marcus Aurelius wrote down to himself. Stoicism offers countless strategies for dealing with other people. The question is, how can we deal effectively with such a situation in the form of a challenging interaction with another human being?Īfter all, we want to express our best even when annoyed. Maybe it has to do with the other person, as he’s not at his best.Įither way, the struggle feels pretty real. Maybe it has to do with ourselves, because we are tired, had a fight with our partner, or we’re just not at our best. Fact is, right now, we’re annoyed by this person. Whether these people are actually annoying or only seem so to us, doesn’t really matter. Life constantly offers us new challenges, often in the form of somewhat annoying people. In that very moment, no remark or challenging situation can cause us to be mean or act against our highest values.īut life doesn’t always seem to run so smoothly. When we’re feeling like on top of the world, when we’re overflowing with contentment and love, then we’ll naturally be acting for the common good.

Now, this is easy doing when life is running smoothly. Because, as Marcus told himself, “What brings no benefit to the hive brings none to the bee.” ( Meditations, 6.54) “Since you yourself are one of the parts that serve to perfect a social system, let your every action contribute to the perfecting of social life.” – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 9.23Īs a social creature and as a limb of the whole organism of mankind, we’re meant to direct our every action to the common welfare.

Such as each limb and organ plays a vital role in our own organism.

Not only as a large human family, in which we’re all brothers and sister, uncles and aunts, but as a single living being, in which we all play an important role. Marcus Aurelius often viewed the whole of human mankind as a single organism. Stoicism is not only a rational, but also a social philosophy.

The ego is the enemy marcus aurelius